Bluetooth can't connect with Win 10 laptop although paired

[onlytanmoy]

Hiya, subject of this post basically. Even though I have paired my Dell Win 10 laptop with my S20 FE 5G via BT but when I try to connect by tapping on the paired device name from mobile BT settings, it says can't connect 😞 Any known fix to this?

[Novgorod]

Are you using the Phone Link app on Windows? I'm not sure if the phone will connect if there is no host app running for the handsfree service on the PC. Even if I quit the Phone Link app, as soon as I manually connect to the PC via bluetooth on the phone, it automatically starts the Phone Link app and the phone successfully connects after Phone Link is started on the PC. So make sure that your Phone Link app is set up with your phone and running (i.e. you can see messages and apps, just not calls), and try to connect the phone directly through the app ("calls" tab).

[LouCypher]

Because I've fighted against the issue discussed within this thread for many month now I just want to share the solution which worked for me:
On my Windows installation it was caused by a privacy and security setting. There the permission for Windows to do phone calls was disabled. After enabling it and un- and repairing the phone with Windows again everything works as it should. I had the same effect that it once worked and then suddenly stopped functioning. I'm not using this feature very often and so there were many month with many updates on Windows and phone side and even a new smartphone after it did work and I recognized that it doesn't anymore. So I can only imagine that Microsoft provided the new permission within some Windows update in between and disabled it by default which is exemplary. So in my case the problem wasn't caused by a messed up bluetooth stack on Windows or phone side. Instead it was caused by a Windows security setting which isn't related to bluetooth connections at first sight.

Hope this information helps at least a few persons fighting against this problem as well.

[cincinnatiking197]

Which privacy setting is it? I've tried every solution here, on Google, on Reddit, etc. Nothing works. My PC is connected to my Samsung S21FE via Bluetooth, but my phone says "Cannot Connect." This mystery has been here since 2021, with no solution for me. Hopefully you'll reply, or I'll figure it out for myself. I want to be able to easily share with nearby devices, but it always says "Looking for nearby devices" and shows nothing on my phone.

[LouCypher]

Well, I'm running a german Windows 11. So I'm afraid that I cannot provide an exact, language independant recipe here because I simply don't know the exact translations shown in a Windows with another language interface. What I did to solve this problem for me was to open the Windows settings, go to "Privacy and security" (most probably, the german name is "Datenschutz und Sicherheit"), scroll down to "App permissions" (most probably, the german name is "App-Berechtigungen"), select the item "Phone calls" (most probably, the german name is "Telefonanrufe") and enable the switches to allow access to phone calls for the system and applications.

[bwelch]

In case anyone is wondering this right here is 100% the correct solution!

[simply_lucas03]

its still not working for me 😞
tried all the things commented below
(currently using a s23 on a windows 11 pc)

[dnazar2020]

Same issue here.  New rig I built myself, Windows 11, and my new Samsung S23 phone I got yesterday.

Everything on the phone works EXCEPT after it pairs to the Windows 11 PC, they can't connect via Bluetooth so doing calls from the PC becomes impossible.

I've tried everything in this entire thread and it did not make a dent in the issue.

[LeeAJ]

Thankyou. I was going crazy. Pc and mobile paired but not communicating. This is an easy fix. Much much appreciated.

[BigBobAgg]

Its now Nov 2023 and this issue still effects me.
I've an A10s too.
All online advice falls short for me.
On bith windows or android/samsung forums i keep reading of settings listings which do not exist on my phone or desktop.
An example being on windows device manager that under network adaptors i have nothing obviously named RDNS remote blah blah.
I had a similar issue trying to locate bluetooth cache clearing in apps. It didnt seem to exist either.

Strangely when i tried usb tethering i foind i could connect the phone, but nothing on the desktop was connecting.
I could see some files on phone but when i tried to look in phones download folder, it fell short, and the green bar showing explorer is searching, kept hanging, especially when it seemed to be at 100%. And would stop responding.
For internet, even when windows thinks it is connected, none of my browsers load. Phone randomly disconnects. But in effect it aooears to be a similar issue to bluetooth. But, in reverse.

I've checked and rechecked every single setting and security setting that i can think of or find.
But... nothing.
Dis you get a resolve yet?

[Jerbobo]

I absolutely hate to necro a post like this but the fact that this whole bluetooth issue still persists after 2 YEARS and there's still no concrete solution is utterly insane. Weird thing is that my android device, a Galaxy A13 5G, was working fine until last month where my phone and my laptop are connected but won't pair. At least I'm still able to send and receive files but I mainly use my phone as a input device since my keyboard is mostly broken. I'll describe what I am experiencing to the best of my abilities.

• Phone and laptop are able to pair but when I try to connect my phone to the laptop it would attempt to connect for a few seconds before getting a "Can't connect to 'Laptop Name' "
• I am still able to send files with my phone and receive them as well.
• This is just a hunch but it is just me or is the connection one-sided? Because looking at my laptop screen shows that it's connected to my android but my android can't connect? Another thing is that when I try to connect with my phone, after being unable to connect, my computer would briefly say that it's not connected before reconnecting once again. I am not tech-savvy but it's something I noticed.

Another thing that I found curious is that using the Phone Link app (or whatever) shows this:

 I do not know what app it may be talking about and it's not being specific if it's a computer app or a phone app that may be disrupting the connection.

I don't know if this will help or not but completely baffles me that neither Samsung or Microsoft has not addressed this 2 YEAR LONG ISSUE and that there STILL no solution.